Altair Manufacturing Continues

Altair’s main booster fin can, housing Northstar V2, has been cut to length and sanded! Fabrication has also begun on SLU RPL’s brand-new launch tower, which will support Altair during launch and fill operations. We’ve kicked things off with rust removal, painting, and the manufacturing of mounting brackets for the launch rail.

Fun fact — I actually found this tower on Facebook Marketplace as an old antenna tower and drove it two hours home with six feet sticking out of my truck bed! Excited to see how this GSE setup comes together.

Meanwhile, Northstar V2 is moving toward component manufacturing now that all stock and tubing have arrived. We’re aiming for a late November hot fire test, with pressure tests planned for late October or early November.

On a personal note- it’s incredibly encouraging to see both new and returning members diving into this project. What started as a dream at Spaceport 2024 has grown into a lab full of 20+ dedicated engineers carrying forward the vision I began. Seeing our lab truly live up to its name “the Rocket Propulsion Lab” makes me so proud.